budg

Hello! Trying to fly from MIA to Tokyo and there is a non-stop MIA-YVR but it lands at 10:20pm and does not depart until 1pm the next day.

Questions:
Will Air Canada check our bags all the way through to NRT (Tokyo) so we just keep our carryon?
Is it possible to send our bags all the way through and spend those 8+ hours at the Fairmont in the Terminal at YVR for 8 hours until next flight?
If above is possible, will we have to go through immigration / customs again, since we are intransit, or security, if we do not leave the hotel / airport?

Also, we've been to Vancouver three times already and love the city, so not interested in leaving the airport for such a short amount of time.

Thanks for any advice and sorry if these are silly questions.

raincitygirl

Not silly questions. You should double check with Air Canada but my guess is that because you are entering Canada from the US you will have to collect your luggage after passport control and re-check it the next day.
You can then go upstairs and walk over to the Fairmont. Regardless of luggage situation you will have to go through security etc again before your next day flight. The Fairmont is not in a secure zone, it is adjacent to the airport, reachable from inside the airport but not in a secure zone and it is accessible from the outside.

budg

Perfect, that is what I thought! In Zurich back in 2017, the luggage went through to Bangkok and we did not have to collect it or anything, but we did use the airport hotel there and pass through security etc again before connecting flight the next morning. That was a 10 hour layover as well.

raincitygirl

Also, you didn't say when this trip was going to take place but be aware that Air Canada pilots have voted to strike Sept. 17th if there is no resolution to their ongoing contract talks.

zebec

Agreed with RCG that these are not silly questions, Budg. Yes the strike is a real possibility. It seems that AC pilots are currently paid about 40% less than their other North American counterparts. And AC has had decent profits since covid, so there's really no excuse on its part to offer matching salaries.
We are biting our nails with a European departure on the 19th.
Good luck in Van!
I am done. the nervous Torontonians

budg

Good to know about the strike. The trip is for next April, but I am now wondering if there is a reason the tickets are 1/2 the price as going through the US or even Europe to get to Japan? We enjoyed Air Canada's 787 on a trip a few years back and when we saw this was an option for such a great deal.... with the exception of the long layover(s) (either through YVR or YYZ) - a looming strike may have an impact later as well, who knows.

Great info though, I think we may have to play it safe and fly either AA/JAL or United/ANA into Japan.

Thanks!

raincitygirl

The strike will be long over by next April, I wouldn't let that be a consideration. I normally fly Air Canada everywhere with minimal problems compared to other airlines I have tried.

Having said that the strike is impacting my trip on Sept 17.

raincitygirl

Agree with you...why doesn't Air Canada just get with the program and pay properly, not like they haven't bumped up their prices substantially since the pandemic.
I have a Sept 17th departure zebec! What crap luck that is. So this am I am just going to suck it up and book another flight with Air France instead.

budg

Hope it works out for all those traveling soon and they work out the terms quickly. Yes, airline employees should be paid fairly. Not cool! We are still deciding what to do. Thanks all

zebec

Budg, in return for being a good sport about my going a bit off-topic here, a rarefied tip:
The PTP (People to People) program was a bank-and-government-sponsored homestay program that once allowed travelers to stay a week with Japanese families, starting back around 1990.
Don't know whether it has remained in place or if it still exists under a new name. But if it does, we highly recommend it.

I am done. the RCG tip (fully-refundable flights as back-up)

AnselmAdorne

budg, if you choose the AC flights, I am pretty sure they will check your luggage through to NRT, despite the long layover. The Fairmount is a nice hotel, but you will have to clear the Canadian border to get to it, and you will have to go through security to get to your YVR-NRT flight the next morning.

rcg and zebec, we had AC flights to Europe booked for September 16th, so we changed them to the the 13th when they announced their flexible booking policy last week. It was very easy to re-book on the AC website, and the change fee was $0.00; I can't complain about that. We return on October 8th. I hope things will have settled down by then.

zebec

Please forgive me just once more Budg.
*Today the consolidator flight agency used by AC and also Lufthansa tried to sell us a pair of one-way tickets from Toronto to Barcelona (via Montreal) for over $18,000 Canadian (i.e. just over $13,000 USD)!
We were shocked. I asked:
"Am I speaking with a Lufthansa rep? Is this Lufthansa Airlines?"

"Yes sir, you are!"
They were lying. Eventually they fessed up and also revealed that their cut would've been $2,200.
We hung up.
I am done. the end

raincitygirl

G
Glad that worked for you, that timing didn't work for me and my friend, plus we had accommodations in the mix that were paid for etc.
On Monday I just re-booked with Air France, leaving the 16th instead and cancelled Air Canada and got everything refunded by them, no change fees. Now we can relax and just enjoy.